A Story of Appreciation and Sacrifice

A young man went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview and the final decision fell to the company’s director. The director saw in the man’s CV that his academic achievements were excellent. From high school through to his postgraduate research, he always had top marks.

The director asked: “Did you win any scholarships in school?”

The man replied: “None.”

The director asked: “Was it your father who paid for your tuition?”

The man answered: “My father passed away when I was one year old. It was my mother who paid my tuition.”

The director asked: “Where did your mother work?”

The man answered: “She worked in a laundry.”

The director requested the man to show his hands. The man showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.”

The director said: “I have a request. When you go home today, clean your mother’s hands and then see me tomorrow morning.”

The man felt that his chance of landing a job was good. When he went home, he asked his mother to let him wash her hands. The mother found it strange, but decided to humor her son. She reached out her hands and he began to wash them. As he did, he felt a tear run down his cheek. It was the first time he had noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and had so many bruises. It was the first time he had noticed this pair of hands that had worked hard everyday just so he could go to school. The bruises in his mother’s hands were the price she had to pay for his graduation, his academic excellence, and his future.

The next morning the man went to the director’s office.

The director noticed the tears in his eyes and asked: “Can you tell me what you learned yesterday at home?”

The man answered: “ I learned appreciation. Without my mother, I would not be the success I am today. I have come to appreciate the importance of family.”

The director said: “That is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others. You’re hired.”

The most important thing to teach your children is appreciation of hard work and the necessity of sacrifice to get things done.